The path towards urbanism and the foundation of the Polis isn't uniform across Greece, so in this video I'm aiming to discuss some important sites that give us an insight into the urbanisation process and what the Greek's considered important when founding a city. Beginning with the settlement of Zagora on the island of Andros, this Early Iron Age settlement shows evidence of grid planning and multi-roomed houses which offers a great insight into Greek class divides.
Excavations at the site of Megara Hyblaea also give us some amazing insights into what the Greek's considered important for founding a city since it is a colony in Magna Graecia that was built from scratch, without any prior deposit.
We're also getting into the time period where religious development is really coming into its own, with the foundation of the Panhellenic Sanctuaries such as Delphi, Dodona & Olympia, so I mentioned some of the theories around their role in Greek society.
I also discuss the evidence we have for Archaic Athens, and the process by which it began coming together to form a Polis. Taking cue especially from Ian Morris (1991) and John Papadopoulos (2003), I evaluate the debate around the Keramikos neighborhood and unpack the clustering process that resulted in the walled boundaries.
Overview of topics in this episode:
🏛️ Origins of the Polis -The beginnings of the Greek Polis, focusing on the transition from small settlements to complex city-states.
🛡️ Zagora on Andros -The well-preserved Early Iron Age settlement of Zagora and its significance in understanding early urban planning.
🌍 Panhellenic Sanctuaries -The role of sanctuaries like Olympia and Delphi in shaping Greek identity and fostering inter-state relations.
📜 Archaic Athens -The development of Athens as a somewhat outleir example of an early Polis compared with other significant sites like Sparta, Knossos, and Corinth.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the development of the Polis and whether you agree with Morris or Papadopoulos in the comments below!
Sources & Bibliography:
Televantou, C. 2008: Strofilas: A Neolithic Settlement on Andros. in Brodie, N., Doole, J., Gavalas, G. and Renfrew, C. eds., Horizon. A Colloquium on the Prehistory of the Cyclades, Cambridge, 43-54.
Zagora Archaeological Report. [Online]. Available at: zagoraarchaeologicalproject.o...
Angelis, F. 2002: Trade and Agriculture at Megara Hyblaea. In: Oxford Journal of Archaeology 21.3, 299-310
Morris, I. 1991: The early polis as city and state. In J. Price and A. Wallace-Hadrill (eds) City and country in the ancient world, 25-57
Papadopoulos, J. 2003: Ceramicus Redivivus: The Early Iron Age Potters’ Field in the Area of the Classical Athenian Agora. Hesperia Supplement 31, The American School of Classical Studies at Athens.
Dimitriadou, Eirini M., 2019. "Child Graves of Submycenaean and Geometric Periods" for Early Athens: Settlements and Cemeteries in the Submycenaean, Geometric, and Archaic Periods. Version 1. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press
Dimitriadou, Eirini M., 2019. "Submycenaean, Protogeometric, Early/Middle Geometric, Late Geometric, and Archaic Periods" for Early Athens: Settlements and Cemeteries in the Submycenaean, Geometric, and Archaic Periods. Version 1. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press.
Tréziny, H. 2016: Archaeological data on the foundation of Megara Hyblaea. Certainties and hypotheses. DONNELAN L.; NIZZO V.; BURGERS G.-J. Conceptualising early Colonisation, Brepols, pp.167-178. 978-90-74461-82-5
Mégara 7 : H. Tréziny (dir.), avec la collaboration de Fr. Mège, Mégara Hyblaea 7. La ville classique, hellénistique et romaine, Rome 2018 (Coll. EFR 1/7).
Alagich, R., Trantalidou, K., Miller, M.C. et al. 2021: Reconstructing animal management practices at Greek Early Iron Age Zagora (Andros) using stable isotopes. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 13, 9
Fachard, S. 2021: Asty and Chora: City and Countryside’, in J. Neils and D.K. Rogers (eds.) The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Athens. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (Cambridge Companions to the Ancient World), pp. 21-34.
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